


In Your Arms

by doctorsorders_deathboy



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Bullies, Cuddling, Falling In Love, Fluff, Homophobic Slurs, M/M, Quest, Sexual Tension, cuteness, nico discovers the internet and i love him
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-26
Updated: 2016-06-15
Packaged: 2018-05-03 10:40:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 5,414
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5287541
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doctorsorders_deathboy/pseuds/doctorsorders_deathboy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Will and Nico get sent to a high school in New Jersey to recruit a new demigod, they're prepared for fighting monsters as usual. What's new to them are the problems of normal American high schoolers: stress, schoolwork, and bullies. This is definitely the most difficult quest they've had yet.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. In Your Arms

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Nico get sent to a high school in New Jersey to recruit a new demigod. Nico gets annoyed and Will gets stressed so they use a calm Friday night to relax.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was requested on tumblr by anon (for mood/characters/setting, they requested cuddles/demigods/high school). Thanks to whoever sent it in!
> 
> This is unbelievably fluffy, you have been warned.
> 
> *Note: In this story, Will and Nico aren't dating yet. It was pointed out to me that I wasn't clear on that in chapter 1 so I just wanted you to know :) Enjoy*

Nico di Angelo in no way considered himself a lucky person. There were small things, however, that he felt extremely lucky about. Things like the fact that he’d actually managed to find people who enjoyed being around him. Things like meeting Will Solace. Even trivial things like never having to go to American high school.

Until now.

Ever since the war with Gaea, Nico had stayed at Camp Half-Blood and enjoyed it. Even his growing feelings for the head of the Apollo cabin didn’t scare him away. Still, there was a small part of him that still felt like he didn’t belong there, like he’d never belong there, and it was this small part of him that pressured him into helping out the camp so much.

Whenever a new quest arose, Nico was first in line for the job. The quests were generally a mix of recruiting new demigods and taking care of miscellaneous monsters around the country. Nico’d been sent on a fair amount of monster hunts so far, but they were luckily all in the same area. Every time he returned, Will would be there, fussing over his wounds and making small talk. Nico began looking forward to returning to camp, where Will would always manage to find something to give the son of Hades a hard time about.

But now he was sitting in a science class, taking half-assed notes and trying not to fall asleep. He glanced up to where Will sat towards the front of the class. The blond was actually interested in the lesson, and continually raised his hand asking the teacher questions. Nico wanted to strangle him.

Will had been enthusiastic about this quest from the beginning, though that was only to be expected since it was his first. The son of Apollo had smiled brightly, saying to Nico, “This is great! We’ll get a chance to get a normal education for a bit!”

Nico had not been looking forward to the trip.

The high school was down in New Jersey, where Nico and Will were currently staying with a legacy of Hermes and her family. They were great hosts, with the exception of how loud their four year old son could be at times. Nico spent most of his time at home holed up in the room he shared with Will, exploring the internet he’d been previously deprived of.

Will was more than happy to show Nico how social media worked and help him set up accounts. The son of Hades got really into modern alternative music, and frequently shared his new favorite songs with Will. The blond, being the geek he was, knew most of the music already, but loved seeing Nico discover the songs on his own. Will frequently teased Nico for becoming a good example of a typical American teenager, which Nico always returned with a scowl.

Finally the bell rang as Nico leapt up from his seat, ready to be home. His orders were to spend as much time at the school as possible so that he’d have a better chance of finding the demigod they were here for, but it was Friday and he just wanted to leave.

“I’ll meet you at your locker!” Will called out to the younger boy as he rushed away from class.

_As long as you don’t make me stay here, then fine._

The son of Hades spun the dial on the locker door too quickly, causing him to mess up the combination. He scowled and tried again. By the time he’d managed to get it open, Will had shown up at his locker, a smile on his face. “Gods, I’m glad that class is over. I’m really nervous about next week’s test and every minute in there was just stressing me out even more.”

Nico looked at him incredulously. “Then why the hell were asking so many questions?! You were acting like you live and breathe off of that lesson.”

Will frowned. “Well, I do find the subject fascinating, it’s just the fact that I’m going to be tested about it that stresses me out. I was asking questions because I want to do well in this unit.”

Nico groaned. “Stop being so responsible and making me feel obligated to do more.”

The taller boy laughed. “Sorry, I can’t help that I’m a stellar student. Now hurry up so that we can start looking for the demigod that brought us here.”

Nico scowled. “But it’s _Friday_. I just wanna go home.”

Will nodded sympathetically. “Me too. But let’s just focus so that we can finish up soon, okay?”

The brunet sighed and rolled his eyes, but followed Will regardless.

The two walked the perimeter of the school grounds, watching for any signs of a demigod. They knew all the signs to look for, and had been doing as much socializing in school as possible to get to know people. Okay, well _Will_ had been doing as much socializing as possible, Nico had been finding excuses for not doing that part of the job. Fighting monsters? Easy. Talking to other kids his age? That was terrifying.

Sports practices began to end, the last kids leaving the school, and Will and Nico still hadn’t found anything new.

Exhausted, Nico slumped down against the brick wall of the building, watching the sun beginning to set. “Can we go home now?”

Will frowned. “We probably should. The only problem is that requires more walking.”

The son of Hades groaned, making Will laugh a bit.

“How about we just rest for a little while? We can walk back later. Besides, I wouldn’t want to miss a sunset like this.”

Nico thought that was wonderful logic, and settled back against the wall. It wasn’t exactly comfortable, but things could be worse.

Will sat directly next to Nico so that their thighs were touching and wrapped his arm around the younger boy. Nico froze at the contact, glancing up at Will who glanced back, an eyebrow raised as if asking for permission.

Nico slowly relaxed, carefully laying his head on Will’s shoulder. Will’s arm tightened around him slightly and the younger boy settled in. A small smile graced Nico’s features as he sat, leaning on the boy he loved, watching the sun disappear behind the horizon. They sat there for a long time, neither one wanting to ruin the moment. Once the sun was completely gone, Nico was worried Will would decide it was time to leave, but the blond said nothing and Nico wrapped his arms around him. They’d have to get back to school work and searching next week, but for now the son of Hades was content in Will’s arms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much for reading! Feedback is appreciated!
> 
> My tumblr is doctorsorders-deathboy.tumblr.com
> 
> ~*Comments and Kudos are a girl's best friend!*~
> 
> -Aspen


	2. Your Hand in Mine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After having had a peaceful Friday night the previous week, Will drags Nico to a party, where the demigods find more trouble than they bargained for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd originally intended for this fic to be a oneshot, but after getting multiple requests for me to continue, I began to get ideas for where this story could go :) Thank you to 7GattiNeri for giving me an idea for this chapter! 
> 
> Warnings: homophobic slurs/behavior are in this chapter
> 
> I hope you all enjoy chapter two!

Ever since Nico had discovered coffee, he had heavily relied on it for being able to function in the mornings. Mondays, of course, were always terrible, but the Monday after the night Nico had spent cuddling with Will was really one of the worst.

He’d overslept because he’d stayed up too late the night before, so he didn’t have time to make sure everything was packed in his backpack. Once he’d gotten to school, he realized he’d left his math notebook at home, which had his homework and notes in it. Then there was a pop quiz in history that Nico hadn’t at all been prepared for, and just to make it worse, there were no new developments in the search for the new demigod. But the worst part? Nico hadn’t had time to have coffee that morning.

After the final bell rang, Nico tried to be quick at his locker. Over the weekend, he’d made a deal with Will that he wouldn’t have to stay after school on Monday, so at least there was that. Will would probably end up staying afterwards, looking for the demigod and making new friends, but Nico fully intended to go home to his room where he would shut the blinds and cocoon himself in blankets with his laptop and headphones. After a day like this, he really needed to detach himself from reality.

“Nico!”

The shorter boy jumped at Will’s sudden appearance. “What do you want?”

“Grumpy,” Will chastised. “And I’ll have you know that I have _good_ news, actually.”

“Well I could use something happy right about now,” Nico said. “What is it?”

“We got invited to a party!”

Nico froze. “What?”

“Okay, well _I_ got invited to a party. But no one would mind if you came, too.”

“Will, I don’t _want_ to go to a party.”

“Oh, come on. You’ve been grumpy this whole trip, but you haven’t even been trying to have fun. You just keep focusing on the bad parts of high school, but there are good things, too.”

“Spending an evening in a house full of drunk, horny teenagers doesn’t really sound like a ‘good’ thing to me.”

“Nico. Parties are _fun_. That’s the whole point of a party. You’re going.”

“I’m not going.”

“Yes, you are.”

“The internet is fun. I’ll just spend the night on the internet.”

“You always do that.”

“Yeah. Because it’s _fun_.”

“You’re going to the party.”

“Nope.” Nico slammed his locker and began to walk away.

“Friday night!” Will called after him. “I’ll see you there!”

“You’re delusional!” Nico called back.

Four days later, Nico went to the party.

~*~

Nico was completely frustrated with Will Solace. Somehow, Nico had found himself a party he really didn’t want to go to. But Will had wanted him to go. So he went.

The problem with Will was that he was stubborn. Like, really, _really_ stubborn. But the problem with Nico was that he was in love with him. Really, _really_ in love. The fact that Will couldn’t take no for an answer might not have been as big of a problem for other people. But Nico just couldn’t help but eventually say _yes_. If Will gave Nico his, _Come on, Death Boy_ , look with his big, blue eyes, Nico couldn’t help but agree. Even if it landed him in a situation like this.

Nico had hoped that he’d at least have been able to spend the evening in the corner, eating snacks and avoiding talking, but Will had other plans. The blond insisted on dragging Nico everywhere and introducing him to other kids he’d become friends with.

Everyone else was super friendly, sure, but that didn’t suddenly make Nico an extrovert. The only bright side to what he was going through was that Will had hardly let go of his hand throughout the whole evening. Sometimes, he’d even wrap an arm around Nico as if he was afraid the son of Hades would bolt if he didn’t keep him in place.

Unfortunately, some people got the wrong idea.

Nico had insisted they go back to the snack bar since he was thirsty, and Will had followed, of course, refusing to let the younger boy out of his sight. When Nico pulled his hand away from Will’s grip to grab a cup, Will held fast.

“Will, would you let go of me for one goddamn second? I’m just getting a drink.”

“Mhm. That’s what you want me to think, but the moment I let go of you, you’re going to run straight back home.”

“Jeez, Solace. What do you plan to do if I have to piss?”

Will rolled his eyes and let go of Nico’s hand, wrapping his arms around his waist instead. “There. Now your hands are free to do whatever. But don’t think I’m letting you go so easily.”

Nico’s heart had started beating ten times faster. Way too much of Will’s body was against his. The layers of clothing between them did nothing to prevent the heat Nico felt from Will’s body beginning to settle in his own core. He wasn’t sure what was making him feel this way. A week before, when he’d spent at least an hour doing nothing but enjoying Will’s embrace, he hadn’t felt this on edge. He glanced around quickly, seeing if anyone was watching. _Oh_ , he thought. _That’s it._

He was in public. In front of kids he went to school with. And Will Solace had his arms wrapped around him. Anyone could see them. That’s what was wrong.

As if on cue, Nico heard a shout from behind them. A shout that made his heart stop and his blood run cold. One word.

_“Fags.”_

Both Will and Nico whipped around to find Chad Mathews and his friends passing by. Chad stopped, turning to face them.

“What did you just say?” Will asked, his voice steady.

“I said you’re fucking fags. Go to hell.”

Will gritted his teeth. “Are you actually kidding me? He’s my fucking _friend_ , you idiot. Gods, get a reality check.”

Chad stepped closer to Will until he was right in his face. “I don’t care if he’s your ‘friend’ or not. It doesn’t change how fucking _gay_ you are. Go screw yourself,” he sneered, turning and walking off with his friends.

Nico stood frozen, shaken by what had just happened.

“You can go home,” Will said quietly. “I shouldn’t have made you come. I’m sorry.” He rushed away, leaving Nico disoriented and alone.

~*~

Ten minutes later, Nico found himself crying on the bathroom floor. He’d found a bathroom on the second floor that no one seemed to be around, which was perfect for having an unplanned breakdown. He hadn’t fallen apart like this in a long time, and whenever he had recently, Will had been there.

But now Will was downstairs hanging out with people who were cooler, _better_ than Nico, and Will was embarrassed to be seen with the son of Hades. Will’s words played over and over again in Nico’s mind and he couldn’t make it stop.

_Are you actually kidding me? He’s my fucking_ friend _, you idiot. Gods, get a reality check._

_He’s my fucking_ friend _, you idiot._

_He’s my fucking **friend**._

Nico’s body shook as he tried to keep his sobs quiet. He wasn’t sure what made him the most upset about what had happened. The fact that it reminded him how much some people hated his sexuality. The fact that it reminded him of how Will would never reciprocate his feelings. The fact that Chad had hurt Will.

Nico let out another sob, and this one echoed in the empty tiled room. He was a selfish _jerk_ making this all about him, wasn’t he? Nico had been out of the closet for a while. Whereas they still hurt, he was used to the homophobic slurs, at least for the most part. Will, on the other hand, had come out more recently and was still struggling with feeling entirely comfortable with who he was. The incident downstairs must have hurt the son of Apollo much more than it had hurt Nico.

Nico clenched his fists. Forget it, he was done crying over this. He’d go home and drown his sorrows in Netflix, and when Will came home he _would_ talk to him about it. He didn’t want Will to feel alone, but now wasn’t the time to go find him.

Nico stormed downstairs. He made his way to the back door, deciding he’d run into less people if he left that way. As fate would have it, there was only one person he ran into outside. Chad Mathews.

The junior was leisurely leaning against the siding, smoking a cigarette and staring off at the house adjacent to the one Nico had just left. Nico didn’t think, he just acted on instinct, grabbing the collar of Chad’s shirt and slamming him against the wall, knocking the cigarette out of his hand. Chad’s eyes were wide. He’d been caught off guard.

“You bastard,” Nico hissed. “That blond guy you called a fag back in there? That was my _friend_. And you told him to go to hell. If you ever try that shit again, I will personally make sure you know exactly what hell feels like.” Nico jerked his knee up, slamming it into Chad’s crotch and making the older boy cry out.

Chad slid down the wall, grimacing. By the time he opened his eyes to find the moron that’d hurt him, Nico had disappeared.

~*~

The next Monday was much better for Nico. He had no horrible schoolwork problems. Will was back to being his regular friendly, annoying self. Nico had gotten his coffee that morning.

But when Will showed up at Nico’s locker at the end of the day, he didn’t have to say anything for Nico to know there was bad news.

“What’s wrong?” Nico asked, immediately concerned.

Will swallowed. “I have news about Chad.”

Nico’s grip on his notebooks tightened. “What the hell did he do this time?”

“Nothing to me,” Will said. “But… he got a new girlfriend.”

“Why the hell do we care?”

“ _Because_ , Nico. She’s… She’s a dracanae.”

Nico’s heart stopped.

“Nico. Chad’s the demigod we’re here for.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I have a few ideas for where the story's going to go from here, but I don't think the final fic will be very long. I think I might actually wrap everything up in the next chap possibly? Either way, comments and kudos keep me writing, and I'd love to know what you think of where I'm going with the plot.
> 
> My tumblr is doctorsorders-deathboy
> 
> I hope you all have an amazing day!
> 
> -Aspen


	3. Tense

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Will and Nico try to find a way to get Chad back to Camp Half-Blood.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi everyone! I'm finally back after my unexpected hiatus. I'm really sorry about that, I was dealing with some mental health problems but I'm alright now.
> 
> On a brighter note, I have more ideas for where the story's going to go so it's going to be significantly longer than I'd anticipated. I hope you're as excited as I am :)
> 
> Warnings: Chad's still a dick
> 
> Enjoy <3

Nico had faced a lot in his lifetime. He’d dealt with more death than imaginable, plenty of injuries and disturbingly close to death experiences, and had literally walked through the depths of hell. So he was pretty angry with himself for letting a 15 year old boy get to him.

But as he worked with Will that evening to figure out what to do next, their discussion was tense and strained. They both knew why but neither of them wanted to admit it. Honestly? They weren’t sure about approaching Chad again.

They ended up deciding that direct confrontation wouldn’t be their best move. Telling a guy who hated them, “Hey, you should break up with your girlfriend and get in a car with us because we’re all actually half god,” didn’t seem like it would go over too well. Instead, they decided to just keep an eye on Chad and wait for his girlfriend to go all dracanae on him so they could tell him, “Hey, you should break up with your girlfriend because she’s obviously a monster and you should get in a car with us because we just saved your life. Also, we’re all actually half god.”

Essentially, they became stalkers.

By the end of the week, they knew Chad’s school schedule by heart, had endured many track practices, and had followed him home enough times to know where all the good hiding places were in case he turned around. Luckily, once he got home he didn’t leave until the next morning for school which was a relief. But there was another party that Friday, and it was one that Will and Nico knew for a fact that Chad and his girlfriend, McKenzie, would be at. This time, not even Will wanted to go.

It was at some senior’s house, which was big with lots of windows. That meant lots of potential exits, which was good. Will and Nico had a feeling they’d need to make a quick break by the end of the night. They had all of their things in their car, with Jules Albert waiting in it. They’d said their goodbyes and thanks to the family they’d been staying with. They were certain this was the night.

As soon as they walked in, they began searching for Chad. They knew better than to split up, but even after scouring the first floor they’d seen no sign of Chad or McKenzie. They made their way up to the second floor, where they carefully opened and checked each room. Unfortunately, the house was huge and the rooms were small. Fortunately, they somehow avoided walking in on any couples who had come up find some privacy. They’d only checked a few rooms before they heard a scream. Nico couldn’t help but think, _Finally_.

They bolted down the hall to where the scream had come from, but paused before opening the door. Nico carefully and silently entered the room before dashing towards where McKenzie stood looming over Chad. Nico’s blade easily sunk into her back. He stood there panting, relief flooding through him that that had been so easy.

Now, he had to deal with the more difficult being in the room.

“Chad, stop screaming or another one will come and find you.” A lie, but it was one that Chad would easily believe.

He shut up immediately, instead shaking on the floor and whimpering. “W-what’s g-going on?”

Will and Nico exchanged a look. “You know how we’re newer students?” Will asked. “Well we didn’t come here to study, we came to find out who was attracting so many monsters to this area. Clearly, it’s you. Previously, we’d managed to kill all the monsters before they got to close to you, but this time a monster went for a more personal approach.”

“B-but why _me_?”

“We’ll explain later. But for now we have to get you back to camp, it’s the only place you’ll be safe. We have to hurry in case another monster comes.”

“Wait, what? What camp?”

“A camp for people like us. People like you. It’s the only place you’ll be safe.”

“Where is it?”

“Long Island Sound.”

“New _York?_ ”

“Yes, now Chad, I’m going to frank with you,” Nico said. “Clearly, Will and I don’t particularly like you. We’re just doing our job right now. Luckily for you, we like monsters even less. So you can either stay here just waiting for the next monster to find you, or come with us. And whereas we don’t like you, we don’t want you to just die a brutal death.”

“You’re insane.”

“Just as insane as you are. Now are you coming or not?”

“What? No, of course not!”

“Suit yourself.” Honestly, Nico was relieved. The sooner Chad got out of their lives, the better.

But naturally, something went wrong.

The door opened, revealing two more cheerleaders. “McKenzie? Are you done?” They froze when they spotted the boys in the room. “ _Demigods_ ,” they hissed, lunging forward.

Will and Nico moved forward, fighting with practiced skill. The fight was two on two, easily winnable, and the dracanae hadn’t been expecting a fight once they got up here. Once the two demons had been reduced to dust, Will and Nico turned to where Chad sat frozen by the bed.

“Um,” Chad gulped. “I… I think I’ll go to that camp then.”

~*~

As soon as they got to the car, Chad screamed again.

“Oh, yeah, I forgot to warn you,” Nico said, coolly. “Chad, this is our chauffeur, Jules Albert. He doesn’t speak much English and he frequently flips people off. He’s cool, though.”

“B-but he’s…”

“A present from my dad,” Nico explained. “He smells kinda weird, being dead and all, so I’ll sit in front.”

“Shut up, Nico, you just like sitting shotgun,” Will grumbled.

“So I do. Sue me.”

Will had to guide Chad into the car since he appeared to be in too much shock to remember how to use his legs. By the time he’d gotten his head on straight, they were already out of the neighborhood.

“O-okay,” Chad started before clearing his throat after realizing how high pitched his voice was. “Now can you tell me why there are monsters after me?”

“We should probably let the people at camp explain it. For some reason, I get the feeling you won’t appreciate getting the explanation from a couple of godless homos,” Nico said bitterly.

“Wait, you _are_ actually gay?”

“Yes. Just to clarify, Will and I are in fact gay. We are not in fact dating.”

“You’re both going to hell,” Chad whispered feebly, his limbs shaking and eyes wide from everything that had happened that night.

“Well, duh. My dad’s the king of the place.”

Much to Will and Nico’s relief, Chad passed out.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? I edited that chapter pretty quickly so if there are any errors, please let me know. Feedback keeps me writing!
> 
> ~*Comments and kudos make my day!*~
> 
> My tumblr is doctorsorders-deathboy
> 
> -Aspen


	4. Back Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> If only returning to camp was peaceful.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yiiiiiiikes it's been forever since I updated this yikesyikesyikes. I honestly kind of forgot about this fic bc it got buried beneath a bunch of other requests I've been trying to fill, so thank you to those of you who reminded me to update! I really update things based on what you guys ask for so if I ever abandon this again, don't feel bad about saying ASPEN GET IT TOGETHER. Anyways, enjoy!

As soon as they got to Camp Half-Blood, Will and Nico left Chad with Chiron and got away from him as fast as they could. They’d done their job. They weren’t obligated to spend any more time with Chad than they already had.

Besides, they imagined Chad wouldn’t take the news of being a demigod very well. They didn’t particularly want to be there to see him get mad again. He was much easier to handle when he was too scared to say anything.

Avoiding Chad ended up being much easier than they expected. The only time they saw him was at meals when he sat quietly at the Hermes table, his head down so that he didn’t have to make eye contact with anyone. Otherwise, they never saw him around camp. The guy kept to himself more than Nico did.

Nico’s one run-in with Chad was about a week after Chad had arrived. Nico had gone for a short walk through the edge of the woods just to have a bit of alone time. When he reached the part that overlooked the sea, he paused to lean against a tree and gaze out at the waves. He heard a faint noise that might have been a sniffle, but didn’t think anything of it until he heard a louder hiccup. Turning his head, he looked through the trees trying to spot where the noise was coming from. He carefully stepped forward, peering through the branches and following the occasional noises to try and find whoever was crying. When he spotted the hunched figure his heart sunk. Not _him_.

Chad sat against a thick tree trunk, his knees pulled up to his chest as he rested his face on top. Nico accidentally stepped on a branch, causing Chad to look up in alarm. After the shock had cleared, his face hardened. “What’re you looking at?” he asked as he furiously wiped away his tears. He glared up at Nico but his voice had betrayed him. It had cracked and sounded hoarse, without any of the punch Chad had probably intended. Nico was admittedly at a loss for words.

“What do you want?” Chad tried asking again, this time succeeding in sounding angry.

“Nothing,” Nico said quietly. “Sorry.” He turned and left before Chad had a chance to respond.

~*~

After that night, Nico hardly thought of Chad for the next few days. He occupied himself with some monsters that had located themselves near the camp by heading out with a few other demigods to get them. Unfortunately, the first time the group set out they were unprepared for the number of monsters they’d be facing. They’d ended up being backed up into the end of a cave where Nico had shadow traveled the whole group back to camp. That move of his had saved everyone’s lives but had left him stuck in bed for forty eight hours.

When he finally woke up, it was evening, probably after dinner had already ended. He groaned, moving to get out of bed when the door to his cabin flew open. Will Solace burst in with wide eyes, his shoulders relaxing when he saw Nico groggily looking up at him. “Thank the gods you’re awake,” he said, closing the door and making his way over to sit next to Nico. “How're you feeling?”

Nico blinked a few times before answering. “Really out of it.”

Will let out a breath, sliding his palms down the front of his shorts. “Well I’m sorry that you had to wake up to this, but we have bad news.”

Nico groaned. “What now?”

“Chad was claimed.”

Nico’s stomach sank. “And he’s a child of the Big Three,” he guessed. Most people assumed so, considering how many monsters he’d attracted back in New Jersey.

Will shook his head. “No. He’s a child of Hebe.”

Nico’s shoulders sagged. The goddess of youth didn’t sound all that threatening to be honest. “What’s the big deal then? Hebe’s a minor goddess.”

“That’s the thing,” Will said, wringing his hands. “There’s no way a child of a minor god would have attracted as many monsters as were in New Jersey.”

Nico raised his eyebrows. “What are you saying?”

Will swallowed. “I think there might be another new demigod.”

~*~

The idea of having to go back to that high school was not a pleasant one to Nico, so he decided to put it out of his mind. He and Will agreed not to worry about it until an actual problem presented itself. That ended up being around twelve hours later.

When another camper came running up to Will and Nico with the news that Chiron needed to speak with them, they both knew that couldn’t mean anything good. As soon as they sat down in the Big House, Will said, “Please tell me this doesn’t have anything to do with New Jersey.”

Chiron raised an eyebrow. “I’m afraid it does.”

Nico let out a groan.

“I assume you boys have figured out most of what’s going on then?” Chiron asked.

“We have a theory.”

Chiron nodded. “There are still monsters at Michaelson High. Less than before, but still a fair amount. Which means…”

“There’s a second demigod,” Nico finished.

Chiron stroked his beard thoughtfully. “So am I correct in assuming you two would not like to be the ones to go search?”

Will and Nico shared a look before returning to look at Chiron. “Unfortunately not,” Will answered. “We’d like to see this quest through, especially considering we were the ones to start it. We feel responsible for seeing it through.”

Nico shifted in his seat. Whereas Will’s answer sounded chivalrous enough, both of them had more personal reasons for wanting to go back. Nico still felt obligated to help the camp and leave a good impression on the campers there, and Will was determined that the first quest he ever went on was a success.

“Very well,” Chiron said after a moment of searching the two boys’ faces. “But I have one requirement.”

“What’s that?” Nico asked.

“I’d like for you to take a third demigod with you. We’ve thrown a lot of traditional quest habits out the window considering we no longer have an oracle, but I’d like to at least reinstate that each quest have three demigods participating. Besides, I don’t see how some extra help could hurt.”

Will nodded. “That’s fine. We’ll ask around to see if there’s someone else who’d like to go with us.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Chiron said, shaking his head. “Someone’s already volunteered.”

Nico wasn’t sure how he knew who it was but his stomach dropped regardless.

“Chad Mathews will be accompanying you back to Michaelson High.”

~*~

For the first time since returning to camp, Nico was not in the mood to avoid Chad. He and Will made a beeline to the Hermes cabin where they spotted the demigod in question rolling up a sleeping bag. “Chad,” Nico barked.

Chad looked up at them, his expression hardening upon recognizing who had called his name. He stood up and made his way over to where Will and Nico stood in doorway. “Okay,” he said before launching into a speech that Nico had a feeling had been carefully planned. “This may come as a shock to you, but I actually have a family back home. And whereas they are currently under the impression that they happily agreed and planned to send me off to a boarding school in New York, that’s not for long.

“Since I’m not some all powerful demigod like you all thought, I’m free to spend the school year back home, which I intend to do. I would, however, like to make sure that my school is 100% monster free before returning. So yeah, I’m going to help out on your quest, and no we don’t have to like each other, but we have to at least agree to act civilized. I’m willing to if you both are.” He nodded decisively as he finished, holding his chin high. His eyes never moved away from Will and Nico, but some emotion flickered in his gaze that Nico couldn’t quite place.

Nico scoffed. “Funny how you first make the decision to be nice to us only after you find out how badly we could hurt you if we wanted to.”

Will elbowed Nico in the side. “Nico, cut it out.” Nico looked at him incredulously but Will was focused on Chad. “Deal.” He stuck out his hand for Chad to shake and after considering it for a moment, Chad stuck out his own hand and clasped Will’s firmly. “Alright,” Will continued. “We’ll leave first thing tomorrow.”

Chad shook his head. “We have bus tickets bought already. We leave in four hours.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hahaaaa here we go guys.
> 
> ~*Comments and Kudos motivate me not to abandon my stories for several months!!11!1!!!1!*~
> 
> Come say hi to me on tumblr! (@doctorsorders-deathboy)
> 
> -Aspen


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